Michael Haneke Slams #MeToo Movement as "Witch Hunt"

"This new puritanism colored by a hatred of men, arriving on the heels of the #MeToo movement, worries me," the Oscar-nominated 'Amour' director said.

Just over a month after French actress Catherine Deneuve (among others) signed an editorial in the French daily Le Monde criticizing the current #MeToo movement for restricting sexual freedom, another filmmaker is condemning the cause.

In a Saturday interview with Austrian daily Kurier (which can be viewed here), director Michael Haneke said, "This new puritanism colored by a hatred of men, arriving on the heels of the #MeToo movement, worries me."

The Oscar-nominated helmer of Amour added, “As artists, we’re starting to be fearful since we’re faced with this crusade against any form of eroticism.”

Haneke said that he believes those guilty of rape or abuse should still be punished, but added, "I find the hysteria and condemnations without any trial totally disgusting.” He blamed the media for the “murdered lives and careers in the process" and condemned the movement as "a witch hunt."

The filmmaker's remarks mirror that of the Le Monde letter (which Deneuve later apologized for), which said, in part, “[#MeToo] has led to a campaign of public denunciations and impeachment of individuals in the press and on social networks, who, without being given the opportunity to respond or defend themselves, are put on the same level as sex offenders.”